Born and raised in California, Jeremy Renner first gained international attention with Oscar nominated
turns in The Hurt Locker (2008) and The Town (2010). He most recently starred in the box office hits
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) and The Avengers (2012).

Q: You look incredible on screen. How did you get in shape for The Bourne Legacy?A: Mostly it was a continuation of what I learned on Mission Impossible and Avengers. A lot of the
same people that I trained with came onto Bourne from those projects. You learn everything you could
imagine. Mostly fighting stuff, Muay Thai, MMA, boxing – just anything and everything that I needed to
learn to be able to perform the role.Q: Did you have any reservations taking the film on?A: The only reservation I had was that I was ignorant as to what the script was, what the story was. I
certainly was not interested at all in playing Jason Bourne. I had reservations of how they could really
continue the amazing storyline that I was a fan of without Jason Bourne, the central character. Once I
saw the material and how clever they were with the script, it squelched all those fears and thoughts. I
could not have been more excited from that point on.Q: It’s been quite a year for you. Do you worry you’ll be able to sustain this momentum?A: No – I suppose I would have to care about momentum. I am really not afraid of a whole lot of things.
If anything, I am blessed with the opportunities that I have had over the last couple of years. These big
movies are hard to get an interesting role in, and then when they are received well? That is the greatest
feeling, really, to feel proud of what you were a part of, and then that it is received well.Q: You certainly knocked it out of the box with The Bourne Legacy. Why do you think these films are so
popular?A: I can’t really speak for anybody else, but it’s reminiscent of the films that I loved growing up. French
Connection (1971) and things like that, that level of authenticity and the visceral nature of it. There is
also that great feeling as an audience member of being put in the shoes of a spy. That is pretty sexy and
mysterious. There is also a great intelligence to these Bourne films that is intriguing to me, the great
writing and characters, and the style of the action. I mean all of that. All of the above is why I like it.
[…]Q: Did you have any input on the motorcycle chase sequence? Did you do any of the stunts, yourself?
How much did you actually do?A: I did 99% of it. There were three or four motorcycle stunts that I could not physically do, and one
where I did not feel confident enough – I didn’t want to take the risk of having Rachel [Weisz] on the
back. You just kind of gauge all that on the day. It is like, ‘It’s sort of raining, so I’m definitely not getting
on the bike with Rachel.’ I mean I will do it, but I am not going to do it with Rachel because we will
probably go down. I am OK going down on the bike, and I did a couple of times. I did not want to, but I
did.Q: Was it helpful being an experienced rider?A: I do not know if it was a hindrance or if it was helpful because riding a street bike is a lot different
than riding a dual sport or an off-road motorcycle. It is like you can drive a car, but then you go to
London and all of a sudden you are on the other side of the road – it is just different. I had a really great
instructor who could do anything on two wheels. [It] gave me a lot of confidence training with him.Q: Did you have input on the fight sequences?A: When it comes to fighting, we don’t learn choreography as much as we learn the discipline. Then it
is like ‘Alright we are fighting in this chasm that’s a foot and a half wide, what can we really do here?’
They will come up with something and I’m like, ‘Alright that’s cool, but maybe we could try a knee here
instead?’ I’m left-handed, so they always have to shift and change things too. All weapons stuff, all the
hand to hand stuff, I have to adjust it for being a left-hander.Q: So what was the biggest challenge for you on Bourne? The fights? The motorcycle? Jumping in the
cold water? Or maybe just an intimate scene with Rachel Weisz?A: I think they are all challenging. I mean they are apples and oranges those things you just asked about.
What required the most time, however, was the fighting. It had to be very effective and authentic, and
in order to do that it required quite a bit of time.Q: How do you feel after you perform a stunt? Do you get a kick out of it? Do you feel especially
confident?A: I will see it and say, “I can do it better. So let’s go again.” That’s how I feel after. […]

Auszug aus dem Interview mit Rachel Weisz:
In The Bourne Legacy (2012), Rachel Weisz finds herself on the run with Jeremy Renner when their spy-
agency puppet masters pull the plug on their clandestine operation. Weisz, who took home an Oscar in
2005 for her performance in The Constant Gardener.

Q: Congratulations on the film. I was quite impressed watching you tool around on the back of that
motorcycle. Were you ever scared? I was holding my breath watching you and Jeremy Renner drive
through Manila like that.A: I was very scared. I didn’t have to act. It was just terrifying. I was terrified and so was the character.Q: Did you ever fall off?A: No!Q: Still, it takes an enormous amount of trust to actually do that. I’ve raced motorcycles myself, and I
don’t really like to take anyone on the back…A: Well, I didn’t have a choice. It was in the script. I just had to do it. You know, Jeremy actually told me
yesterday – and thank god he didn’t tell me in Manila – but he said the scariest thing for him was being
responsible for someone else’s life. Thank god he didn’t say that to me in Manila, because if I would
have even smelt fear on him, I never would have gotten on. He was like: “Yeah, it is okay. Everything’s
going to be okay.”Q: Are you fearless in your acting?A: Yes, I’m fearless. But to be fearless about being emotional, there’s not a big downside to it. I mean,
there’s a downside to falling off a bike going at high speed. That’s a different thing!Q: What was it that attracted you to this film?A: I’m a really big fan of the Bourne films (2002, 2004, 2007, 2012) and Tony Gilroy was the architect of
the first three. I’d also seen Michael Clayton, which was one of my favorite films ever, so I really wanted
to work with Tony. Jeremy and I had wanted to work together for a while, too. Then I read the script and
I thought it was an interesting, complex character.Q: Do you think this is as close as you’ll get to be to a Bond girl so to speak – a Bourne girl?A: I don’t think so, because I didn’t get to wear high heels.Q: What’s the essence of a Bourne girl for you?A: I don’t think there have been enough of them to say. There’s been Franka [Potente] who’s a
magnificent actress. I’m a huge, huge fan of hers, and Julia Stiles. There’s only been two and they’re
both very, very different women. So I wouldn’t want to stereotype the Bourne women. I don’t know,
we’ll see!Q: Are you coming back for more?A: If I’m invited to, I would love to. If they make another one, I would definitely love to make another
one.

[….]Q: Does this give you food for thought at all? While this is a work of fiction, there are probably grains of truth here.A: I think absolutely everything in the movie is possible. The science is possible and all of that is possible. It’s not science fiction. It’s fiction, but it’s scary, totally realistic fiction. […]